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Wal-Mart wallet snatcher arrested in Iowa

LAS CRUCES - The man captured on surveillance video stealing a wallet from a woman in September at a Wal-Mart in Las Cruces was arrested last week in Iowa on burglary and theft charges, Iowa jail records show.

LAS CRUCES - The man captured on surveillance video stealing a wallet from a woman in September at a Wal-Mart in Las Cruces was arrested last week in Iowa on burglary and theft charges, Iowa jail records show.

Christian J. Sanchez, 48, is being held at the Woodbury County jail in Sioux City, Iowa, on charges of burglary, theft and forgery, according Iowa court records.

He was booked into the jail on Oct. 21 on bonds totaling $25,000, jail records show.

Surveillance video shows Sanchez grabbing Reber from behind and running off with her wallet. Reber previously told the Sun-News that she chased down Sanchez and retrieved her wallet.

The video also shows Sanchez's girlfriend, Shana Kowalke, pointing out Reber to Sanchez moments before he snatched her wallet.

Sanchez was released from the Doña Ana County jail on Sept. 8. The following day, police charged him with misdemeanor larceny and obtained a warrant for his arrest. He has not been arrested on that warrant.

Reber said she was not surprised when she learned of Sanchez's arrest in Iowa.

"Even if the charges had stuck here, I feel like even if he got out, he probably would have kept doing whatever he's doing. Some people never learn," she told the Sun-News on Thursday.

Reber said she remains frustrated at how her case was handled by police.

"It's irritating that the larceny charge didn't really work out either, and I wasn't a part of the investigation," she said. "I wasn't kept in the loop at all."

Still, she said, she's pleased that Sanchez remains behind bars for the time being. "I hope it sticks this time," she said.

Sanchez is due in court in Woodbury County next week, court records show.